Press conference by Joaquín Almunia on the EC block of proposed acquisition of TNT Express by UPS

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On 30 January 2013, Joaquín Almunia, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Competition, held a press conference on the EC block of proposed acquisition of TNT Express by UPS.
The European Commission has prohibited under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of TNT Express by UPS. The Commission found that the take-over would have restricted competition in 15 Member States when it comes to the express delivery of small packages to another European country. In these Member States, the acquisition would have reduced the number of significant players to only 3 or 2, leaving sometimes DHL as the only alternative to UPS. The concentration would therefore have likely harmed customers by causing price increases. During the investigation, UPS offered to divest TNT's subsidiaries in these 15 countries and allow the buyer to access its intra-European air network for five years. The Commission carried out an in-depth assessment, including a market test where customers and other interested parties were consulted. However, these remedies proved inadequate to address the identified competition concerns.